Electoral Act: Make e-transmission Votes Public, Senator Ningi Urges Senate

The Senate may release records of how lawmakers voted on the controversial electronic transmission of election results, Senator Abdul Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central, has said.

Ningi spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, ahead of the emergency plenary session scheduled for Tuesday, convened amid mounting public criticism over the Senate’s handling of the Electoral Act amendment.

Asked whether Nigerians could be allowed to see which senators supported or opposed real-time electronic transmission of results, Ningi said such disclosure was possible under the Senate’s rules.

“I think it’s possible. It depends on the presiding officer because the law provides that,” he said.

Explaining how the process could be made transparent, the lawmaker added: “You can stand up and say, ‘I, Ningi, I accept e-transmission in real time.’ I sit down. It’s recorded every other senator, and that is the only way we need to move forward.”

Ningi said the controversy surrounding the amendment was partly due to gaps in the official record of what transpired during deliberations.

“One thing that is very important is that the votes and proceedings have not been captured. So tomorrow (today), we need to look at what the votes and proceedings captured are. Is it a transfer?” he said.

He further questioned how the amendment to the electronic transmission clause was handled on the floor of the chamber.

“There was a motion for amendment by Manguno, and then the question was put. Who asked the question? Why was the question raised?” Ningi asked.

According to him, the matter required clearer deliberation before any decision was taken.